Puff Pastry (Day 2) – 7 Days of Christmas

Perfect for parties and sure to win a lot of hearts. Puff Pastry is made in layers that expand when cooked. It is quite versatile so feel free to add a filling of your choice or serve flaky as is. The incredibly light flakes are enough to make it Oh So Special! 🙂

The most important thing in this recipe is the dough. You need to have precision with the initial rolling out of the dough and butter. Chilling the pastry between each subsequent roll and fold allows the butter to harden so you can build up clean, even layers of dough and butter. This Puff Pastry is adapted from Paul Hollywood’s Cheats Puff Pastry.

Here’s the quick and easy recipe for your Christmas party.

Preparation Time 1.5 to 2 hours
Baking Time 13-15 minutes
Makes 6-8 Puff Pastries
Main Ingredients Maida (PlainFlour) & Salted Butter
Main Equipment Oven
Course Snack
Level Of Cooking Medium

Ingredients                                                                  

• Plain Flour (Maida)  2 cups (for dough), 1 cup (for dusting)
• Salted Butter  1/2 cup (50 grams) at room temperature
• Salted Butter  a little over 2 cups (120 grams) grated and frozen
• Water  for dough
• Egg  1 beaten
• Salt  a pinch

Method

Step 1
To make the dough – Take Plain Flour (maida) in a deep bowl. Add salt and salted butter (room temperature). Gradually add water and knead into a semi-soft dough. (Use the some flour for dusting at intervals).

Step 2
Roll the dough out into a rectangle by using a rolling pin (belan) on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle half of the frozen (grated) butter over the top two thirds of the dough. Fold up the bottom third and fold down the top third (as if folding a letter).

Step 3
Now turn the folded dough through 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again. (If the temperature of your kitchen is warm the frozen butter might start melting soon after it’s sprinkled on the dough, so after Step 2 if you see butter coming out from any corners of your dough just refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes before Step 3). Repeat the process of adding the remaining frozen butter and fold as before. (Don’t forget to use flour for dusting at intervals while rolling.)

Step 4
Fold the dough from both sides and put in an air tight container or wrap in a cling film and leave to rest in a refrigerator for 1 – 1.5 hours.

 Step 5
After bringing the dough out of the refrigerator roll into a rectangle. (Cut the uneven sides with a knife). Now cut the rectangle into six or eight squares with a knife. You can put a filling of your choice (like I have added curry chicken threads in the photo below) and join two of the four corners (you can experiment with any shape you like). 
Step 6
Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celsius. Put baking/parchment paper in a baking tray and then put all the pastries on it. Brush all the pastries with egg on top. Now bake them for 13-15 minutes or until golden and puffy.
Step 7
Bring the tray out of the oven and let it stay for 5-10 minutes. Your delicious and flaky puff pastry is ready to be served with tomato sauce or any other sauce of your choice and You be ready to win a lot of hearts. 🙂
Relish your Palate!